STOCKTON 99 SPEEDWAY
2010 Schedule         Last race: Tight Races Open Season

The New Stockton 99 Speedway Media Release – 4-10-2010           

Media Relations – David Holman

The Green Flag Dropped Under Grey-Flannel Skies Happily Void Of Moisture With Tim Spurgeon And Trevor Schlundt Taking Home Top Honors

After a week of wrestling with Mother Nature’s dominance, the green flag dropped once again on Saturday, April 10^th, to resume the 2010 Racing Season.  On the ticket for the event were the NASCAR Whelen All-American Racing Series Western Late Models in Twin-50’s, Street Stocks, Bombers and the Basically-4-Cylinders.  Also on the schedule for the pure racing pleasure of the fans in the stands were the Figure-8’s and the always popular Legends of the Pacific.  A crowd of nearly 1,200 turned out to enjoy some incredible early-season racing.

With a week off to contemplate and recuperate, the Western Late Models roared back into action knowing full-well double duty was staring straight at them through the windshield.  The first Twin got underway with Defending Track Champion Justin Philpott (05) of Tracy and Danville’s Tim Spurgeon (86) pacing the field to green.  The race was slowed immediately on lap 2 when the #14 of Manteca’s Gary Franks looped it between one and two drawing the first caution of the night.  On the restart, and for the next several laps, Mark Holeman (21) of Los Altos and Spurgeon battled back and forth to gain position on the top spot until a lap 14 restart when Spurgeon grabbed a huge hunk of forward bite and charged off to the checkers like a man possessed to capture his first victory of the 2010 Season.  “I would like to thank Redline Oil and SafetyKleen for coming onboard this year, they made this race possible,” said the very gracious Spurgeon, “this win tonight is for them.”  Holeman held on to finish an extremely close second with Stockton’s own Chad Holman (9) bringing her home for his first podium finish in third.  Philpott managed a fourth while Mike Beeler (6) of Modesto rounded out the top five.  The race was slowed by a total of four early caution periods, but after the first dozen laps, it was smooth sailing the rest of the way.

The second of the WLM Twins got real busy real quick with Trevor Schlundt (28) of Clovis and Mike Beeler (6) of Modesto pairing up on the front row with the field in tow to get this one underway.  Schlundt pulled out to the lead on lap 1 and held strong until lap 22 when Justin Philpott (05) of Tracy, and winner of the first race, Tim Spurgeon (86), came together between three and four bringing with it the only caution of race two.  On the restart, Schlundt would prove to be too strong as he never looked back, going flag to flag, for a very impressive victory.  “It feels good to win here,” said the quiet-mannered Schlundt, “I would like to thank my dad and everyone who helps us on the car.”  Beeler held solidly to second throughout the race and that’s where he would finish.  Mark Holeman (21) came home with his second podium of the night in third while Chad Holman (9) had another impressive finish in fourth and Tracy’s Ryan Philpott (52) made up the top five.

The Street Stocks rumbled onto the racing surface with Escalon’s Brock Monroe (42) and Lodi’s Robert Daniels (17) leading the way.  For the first couple laps Monroe and Mark Squadrito (3) of Livermore swapped the top spot, but on lap 2 Defending Champ Jeff Ahl (31) of Lodi and Daniels made contact coming up off turn two with Ahl slamming hard into the outside wall which, unfortunately, sent him to the pits and ended his night.  After the dust settled, and cooler heads prevailed, the green flag went waving again with Sammy Solari (79) of Escalon nabbing the holeshot as he quickly established himself as the dominating force on this night.  Solari would set sail on a fantastic journey, untouched by mere mortals, on his way to the glory land winning his second race in a row in over-powering persuasion.  “This is a pretty good hotrod, man,” said Solari, “I have to thank all the guys, we work on this car every day, not on Thursday and Friday, but every day, and this is what we expect in return.”  Squadrito would finish a very impressive second with Daniels slipping a bit, but still managed a podium finish in third.  Stockton’s Ben Lewis II (22) was fourth while Monroe finished fifth.

The crashem, smashem Bombers brought their race to life in their own pavement-pounding way as only they can do.  Stockton drivers Lisa Martin (808) and Mike Massone (007) brought the pack around to greet the green.  Martin jumped out early only to surrender the lead on lap 4 when Freddy Rathjen Sr. rolled on by with the #004 of Stockton’s Tom Dahl in tow.  On lap 5 the first yellow went flying when Lodi second-generation driver Robbie Knittel (3) pulled over on the front-stretch with mechanical problems which resulted in a small fire under the hood.  It was quickly extinguished, but Knittel’s night was done.  On the restart, Dahl rocketed out front where he would cruise in dominating fashion, untouched by challenges, until the checkered flag waved above him as he crossed the line a half lap ahead of the closest competitor for his second win in a row.  “It’s not getting any easier, that’s for sure,” said the mellow-mannered Dahl, “in order to keep it up front every week, you got to do your homework.”  Stockton’s Travis Tucker (350), starting P13 on the grid, did an absolutely fantastic job working his way through the field to finish a very impressive second.  Rathjen Sr. slipped back a bit after looking so strong early on to finish third.  Martin had an adventurous night, but still managed a fourth place finish with the #029 of Freddy Rathjen Jr. rounding out the top five.  Unfortunately, for Tom Dahl, his car failed post-race inspection which subsequently led to a DQ moving the entire field up one position in the official results.

The Basically-4-Cylinders got their race underway with the #28 of Tommy Gun on pole and the #13 of Modesto’s Dan Durbin (13) at his side.  Coming around to lap 1 Larry Toon Jr. would take full advantage of a great start as he jumped out to the early lead.  Toon would widely guard that much-coveted real estate out front until lap 14 when the #23 of Modesto’s Richard Hull stuck his nose under Toon between one and two to power his way to the lead.  From that point forward it was all Hull, despite the shadowing of his every move by Toon, as they crossed below the checkers with Hull reaping the spoils of victory.  “I feel great,” said the very likable Hull, “Larry (Toon) came out here and swept it two weeks ago, so I decided to come out here and do it this week.”  Of course, Toon would finish second in a gallant effort with JD Silva (56) of Modesto finishing on the podium in third.  Durbin fell off the pace a bit, but still managed a fourth while the #61 of Kelly Bobbit made up the top five.  A note worth mentioning: the #5 was driven by Matt Anderson, a third-generation driver from Stockton.  Matt is 14 and this was his first race at the Speedway.  Welcome to racing at Stockton 99 Speedway, Matt.

These scaled-down models of yesteryear always bring excitement and absolutely great racing to the high banks at Stockton.  This Division is so well run, they would be worth the price of admission if they were the only race of the night.  The #4 of Frank Marks rolled this one around to get underway with Stockton’s own Keith Clement (8) flanking him to the right.  Marks would jump out to the early lead only to be overtaken on lap 6 by 14 year old Stanislov Osterlund (42) of Los Gatos.  On lap 10, the first and only yellow of the race was thrown as the #22 of Tracy’s Jeremy Wood and the #10 of Stockton’s Angelo Queirolo made contact coming out of two which relegated both drivers to the tail-end of the field.  On the restart, Osterlund jumped out front in convincing fashion where he would remain, despite an occasional challenge from Micah Parmer (96) of Anderson, until the laps wound down to the checkers as he crossed the stripe for his first-ever win in the Legends.  Parmer would hold tight to finish second while Wood worked his way back through the field to finish an amazing third.  Manteca’s Donny Darter (99) finished a solid fourth with Marks sliding back, but still held on to the top five.

The Figure-8’s were in action for their first event of the New Year with the #42 of Escalon’s Brock Monroe making a beautiful last lap pass to capture the checkers.

Don’t forget next Saturday, April 17^th, with the NASCAR Whelen All-American Western Late Models and Grand American Modifieds in Twin 50's.  Also on the bill for the evening will be the USAC Focus Midgets, USAC Jr Focus Midgets and NCMA Sprint Cars in their first appearances of the year.

The New Stockton 99 Speedway is located at 4105 N. Wilson Way, ¼-mile west of Highway 99.  For more information on tickets and times, please contact the Speedway Office at (209)466-9999 or visit their Website at www.stockton99.com. 

 
Narrow wins at Stockton 99
 

By The Record

April 12, 2010 12:00 AM

Tim Spurgeon narrowly outraced Mark Holeman by 0.124 seconds to win the Western Late Model main event at Stockton 99 Speedway on Saturday night.

Spurgeon Finished with a total time of 21:23.584, followed by Holeman, and Chad Holman in third, 0.483 seconds behind Spurgeon.

Trevor Schlundt placed first in the second main event of the WLM with a time of 12:54.748, Richard Hull took first in the B-4 at 13:38.165, and Stanislov Osterlund outlasted the competition in the Legends event with a time of 13:14.738.